


Fallen Through the Cracks

by klanstability (Shanimalx)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Langst, M/M, Post-Season 5, keith hugs, lance cries, thats it thats the fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-06
Updated: 2018-06-06
Packaged: 2019-05-08 22:12:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14703486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shanimalx/pseuds/klanstability
Summary: Keith groaned in frustration. "Why is this so difficult!""You wanna know what's difficult?" Lance seethed, his voice dangerously even.---When Keith leaves, there’s a little bit of a void. Lance is definitely bummed, and kind of annoyed, and not sure why. So when Keith comes back, he bares his heart (but not before his teeth).





	Fallen Through the Cracks

**Author's Note:**

> i love lance. @dreamworks let him cry. and let keith hug him. ples.
> 
> a big thank u to the bang squad for all ur support on betaing this, especially [Xiryan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xirayn/pseuds/Xirayn) who probably edited it like four times. i showed this to so many other people i forget who exactly helped so im thanking everyone anyway.

"Why do you do that?" Keith asked after the door hissed shut behind Pidge as she left the bridge. His tone was sharp, not unlike how he’d snap back at whatever tease Lance threw his way.

It wasn't biting with snark like it usually was, though.

"Do what?" Lance asked, the corner of his mouth teasing up into a smirk and throwing up his hands dramatically, "Make my friends feel better?"

He knew what Keith meant. He just wasn’t in the mood for a therapy session. _Especially_ with Keith.

" _Lance_." There was an edge to his voice now--not sharp, like a knife, but forceful, like a wall. A warning not to go any further in the wrong direction. Lance's stomach dropped slightly; Keith really wasn't going to let go of this.

Lance leaned back on his elbows to gaze up at the stars. The bridge was one of his favorite places to be. No human had ever had the opportunity to see so much _space_ at once, so he really had no choice but to look at them as often as possible. He liked to think that Earth was orbiting one of those pinpricks of light, and that his family was out there looking up at him too.

Lance gave a weak shrug. "I don't understand, Keith," he said, letting sincerity coat his tongue, "Pidge was missing her dad, so I gave her some words of encouragement. Friends gotta support each other, or else our teamwork suffers." They’d experienced that consequence firsthand, so _surely_ Keith couldn’t argue any more.

Except he did.

"But you were talking about _your_ family. Then when Pidge mentioned her dad, you just dropped everything to make her feel better."

Why, oh _why_ did Keith's words make Lance feel so guilty? Frustration broiled up inside of him - Keith had no right to make him feel _anything_.

Lance stuck his chin up. "I don't understand what the problem is."

Keith, always the hungry fish to Lance’s bait, bristled right back. "Stop lying, Lance. I'm trying to help you."

T _hat_ was rich. " _Help_ me?" Lance balked. "Since when do you _help_ ? What, you run off on vacation with your knife buddies, and suddenly you're in a _helping_ mood now?"

Keith blinked back in confusion. "It wasn't a vacation--"

"Oh! And you find your mom, too!" Lance had almost forgotten about that. It was one of the first things Keith told them when he returned, and Lance couldn't help but feel the jealousy rise hot in his stomach. Of course the only half-alien member of the team would find his long-lost alien parent. _Of course_.

Lance picked himself off the ground and threw his hands in the air. "How amazing for you!” he yelled, leaning close into Keith’s space. “All your problems are solved, and now you're my _personal psychologist_!"

"I'm not trying to be your psychologist, Lance, I'm trying to be your friend! Didn't you _just say_ 'friends help each other'?"

 _Quiznak._ Of course Keith would throw his own logic back at him. “Well, you’re _not_ helping!”

Keith groaned. "Why is this so difficult!"

"You wanna know what's difficult?" Lance seethed, his voice dangerously even. "Knowing your best friends hang out without you and talk about weird tech stuff that goes right over your head! Seeing Allura bond with _Lotor_ , of all people, over their dumb alien magic! Being Shiro's 'right hand' when all he does is yell at me and ignore everything I say! But you can't help with any of _that_ , can you?"

Lance swallowed hard, fighting back tears. "You wanna know why I help people, Keith? To be useful. I do it so that I'm needed."

Keith’s voice was softer than he’d ever heard, and it pierced his heart. "I--Is that what you think?"

Lance’s lip quivered. "Everyone knows I'm just a placeholder for you, Keith. That's all I've ever been." First at the Garrison, and now in Red... "I'm just keeping your pilot seat warm.”

He sank back to the floor and buried his face in his hands. It hurt. _God,_ it hurt. His heart clenched and ached just thinking about how truly insignificant he was. Everyone else had more important things to do, and Keith _was_ the better pilot after all. And now that he was back--“Quiznak, I can't even have that now, can I?" A desperate sob wracked his body.

"I'm not here to take Red from you," Keith said flatly.

 _I don't deserve her anyway_ , Lance wanted to say, _She misses you_.

He took in a shuddering breath, trying to conceal the wet mess he was making from Keith. He wanted to run to his room, to hide under the covers until Keith forgot about this whole thing.

But part of him was afraid.

However misguided the attempt was, this was the first time in a long time that he felt _heard_. The part of him keeping him huddled on the floor weeping was afraid that, if he left to distance himself from Keith, he'd never be able to close that gap again.

I _missed you_.

"Hey," Keith breathed, settling beside Lance and reaching an arm around him. Lance leaned into the touch, turning to bury his tear-stained face into Keith's sleeve.

“It’s ok. I'm here for you."

"I know," Lance choked.

"You're okay. I'm here now. I'm here."

" _I know_." His grip on Keith's shirt tightened.

* * *

"It's getting late," Keith said once Lance's sobs dissolved into hiccups. The slow rise and fall of Keith's chest and the circles he was rubbing into Lance's back had him on the edge of sleep.

He hummed into Keith's collar. He knew he should move, but he didn't want to. With his head against Keith's chest, Lance could hear his heart pounding strong and steady. It was very comforting.

Keith patted his arm. "You can't fall asleep on me here."

Right. The team would see them here in the morning. Couldn't have that. "Sorry."

Lance leaned away and immediately missed the contact. For such a lean build, Keith was surprisingly cozy.

"It's fine. I just--we'll be more comfortable in our beds." Keith stood and extended his hand.

“Come on. I’ll walk you.” Keith smiled at him.

Lance decided he liked how it looked.

* * *

They walked in a comfortable quiet back to Lance's room. Lance tried to build the courage to brush his knuckles against Keith's as they swung their arms, but his nerves got the better of him. He cursed his weak resolve.

_Well, this is it._

"Um," Lance started, unsure of how to fill the silence. Should he say goodnight and leave it at that? Should he invite Keith inside? He wanted Keith to stay with him, to make him feel warm and needed again, but that would _definitely_ be crossing a line. He settled for just, “Thanks."

Then, Keith stepped closer.

Lance knew from personal experience that being touchy-feely was _not_ one of Keith's strong suits. When things got too personal, his go-to reaction was to just...leave. Which was why, when Keith hugged him, Lance stood shell-shocked for longer than was probably appropriate before returning it.

“I missed you,” Keith hummed. Lance could feel the vibrations run through him from where their chests touched. The heat of him beneath Lance’s palms was a wonderful sensation, right up there with Keith's heartbeat. "I'm sorry I wasn't here for you."

“I missed you, too.” Being held for the second time that night, Lance began to realize how much he really meant it. He’d been so worried about what Keith’s return would mean for his place on the team that he hadn’t noticed the void that had formed in his absence.

Keith pulled back, but stayed close in Lance's space. Standing with so little room between them, an unfamiliar sense of comfort settled in Lance's stomach, and a familiar heat rose in his cheeks.

“You’re important because you’re you,” Keith said with a strong finality, “not because you’re useful. We all want you here, Lance."

Lance nodded, afraid that any attempt at responding would open the floodgates again. He gazed at the boy in front of him, all bright violet eyes and shaggy hair, and imagined what life would be like to see him like this every day. To get this close whenever he wanted. To wake up to this. Lance dared to lower his eyes to Keith’s rosy lips, and his stomach churned pleasantly. _Oh, quiznak_.

Keith suddenly seemed to notice Lance’s lips too and quickly stepped away. “I--uh. You should get some rest.”

“Wait.” Lance’s voice cracked as he grabbed Keith’s sleeve. Keith looked back at him with a question in his eyes that Lance hoped he could guess correctly.

“Will you... stay?" _This time? For me?_

Keith had trouble hiding the smile that broke out across his face and the faint, rosy glow that rose in his cheeks. It was a _really_ good look on him. Easily one of Lance's favorites.

“Of course I will.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> This was my piece for the [Lance Flash Bang 2018](http://voltronbigbang.tumblr.com)! It was so much fun being a part of this event, definitely a fun challenge writing something in 1300 words, accidentally editing 500 extra words in, and cutting it back down to exactly 1500. Thank you to everyone who helped me piece this together!
> 
> The artist I was paired with for this event was the lovely [gablucent](https://www.instagram.com/gablucent/). Go check their stuff out!! Their art for this fic can also be found [here](https://gablucent.tumblr.com/post/174631260906/fallen-through-the-cracks)!
> 
>  
> 
> [my tumblr](http://klanstability.tumblr.com)


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